Altered
by the queen of slurking
Summary: What if Bella had argued more when Edward tried to leave her in New Moon?


**A/N: if Bella had argued a little more forcefully in the forest, how might things have played out? I'm not going to write verbatim from the text the entire leaving scene, I'm too lazy for that. Again, I don't own anything. I appreciate reviews. Maybe not my best work-that's why I like reviews. ****J**

Altered New Moon

BPOV

'You promised! In Phoenix, you promised that you would stay-' I began to say, before he interrupted me.

'As long as that was best for you'.

(p 69 of New Moon)

'It is what's best for me. Being with you is what makes me happy. Don't you think that therefore, its best for us to stay together?' My mind was racing, trying to work out the best way to convince him.

So far, he looked unconvinced. Just for once, I wished he could read my mind. Hear my thoughts that were all wanting him to stay, realize that I really didn't want him to go.

'If you were happy, wouldn't you be spending more time with your other friends and people outside of the Cullen family? Rather than just spending all your spare time with us, putting yourself at risk every time you're around one of us? Just because we've consciously decided to try to keep you alive, doesn't guarantee that you will stay alive.'

That was a little more difficult to follow. His logic wasn't quite working. Did my spending much of my time with his family indicate that I was unhappy somehow? And of course I knew of the risks associated with being around them. Even so, I still spent much of my time with them. I couldn't not be around them.

Edward had once said I was like his own personal brand of heroin. It was much the same for me, being around the Cullens was like a drug for me. I needed it too much to give up. I knew that if they did leave, I would be much like a drug addict trying to quit. You couldn't spend some time around them and then just leave easily-I'd found that it was something I had to keep doing.

I managed to express all this to him, watching him carefully. His face was set in stone, but as I kept talking, the stone expression softened. Finally he seemed to give in, and changed his mind about leaving. I knew Alice would see as soon as he made the decision.

With that decision, we left the forest, returning to their house.

The next months passed uneventfully. At their house, we'd had a vote to decide on whether or not I became a vampire. Most of the votes had been in my favour, and a few weeks after I graduated, we packed up and left Washington altogether. Not long after, I became a vampire, enduring for three days the scorch of venom spreading through my veins. I had been insistent that I didn't want to reach my nineteenth birthday, with Edward forever seventeen.

In the end, it had been Carlisle's mention of the Volturi that had sealed my fate as a vampire. He reminded everyone else-and told myself for the first time-that if I was human too long, the Volturi would get to know about it and move to eliminate me. Not only that, but Alice's vision of me as a vampire had also sealed it. Going by what Alice said would definitely happen and their collective fear of the Volturi, it was bound to happen.

Once the burning had finished I was taught to hunt and feed on animals only. It was pretty easy to adapt, and I found the irony in feeding on blood when my human self had all but fainted at the sight of it.

Once the red eyes had faded to the gold that all the Cullens had, Edward and I got married. Rosalie wasn't best pleased about any of it, and I felt bad about depriving my family of my wedding day, but it had been the best way-I was still young and didn't want to risk attacking my loved ones.

Really, it doesn't matter all that much anymore. In a few years, we'll get remarried and I'll be able to have my family there.

After all, Edward and I now have eternity together. I'm so glad I was able to interrupt him and stop him from going. Alice had seen that I would be utterly miserable if Edward had left, letting him see the visions in her mind to prove her point.

Recently, he gave me a locket. Inside was a photo of us on our first wedding day, and on the back was engraved 'together forever'.


End file.
